Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Deputy Ruler of Sharjah and Humanitarian Envoy for The Big Heart Foundation, announced the establishment of the Jawaher Al Qasimi Humanitarian Innovation Centre at Universitas Gadjah Mada in Yogyakarta as he concluded his visit to Indonesia. The centre receives total funding of 1.6 million U.S. dollars, with one million dollars from The Big Heart Foundation, 500,000 dollars from NAMA Women Advancement Establishment and 100,000 dollars from the university itself. According to Sharjah24, the initiative seeks to link academic knowledge and research with humanitarian expertise to produce practical, scalable models that empower communities and improve livelihoods.
The partnership agreement was signed in the presence of Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed by Mariam Al Hammadi, advisory board member of The Big Heart Foundation and director general of NAMA Women Advancement Establishment, and Dr. Danang Hadmoko, vice rector for research, innovation and partnerships at Universitas Gadjah Mada. Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed toured the university’s Innovation and Creativity Centre and its library, receiving briefings on academic programmes before inspecting the future site of the new centre, which the institution will prepare in the coming period. The Deputy Ruler’s visit to the university formed the capstone of a series of field engagements across Bali, Central Java and Yogyakarta.
Earlier in the trip, Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed led a delegation from The Big Heart Foundation to several charitable projects in Bali to assess local community needs and explore models in education, empowerment, protection and livelihoods. At the Annika Linden Centre, he reviewed programmes that supply free prosthetic limbs, orthotics, wheelchairs and physical therapy while supporting access to education and employment for people with disabilities. The Deputy Ruler met staff and beneficiaries at the Bali Life Foundation, which runs non-formal education, community support and women’s economic empowerment activities including sewing and handicraft training.
Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed continued to SOS Children’s Villages Indonesia, examining family-based care programmes, computer laboratories and art studios that help stabilise at-risk children and families. The Big Heart Foundation stated that these site visits allow the organisation to adapt successful local approaches into its own interventions across South and Southeast Asia. The foundation has made expanding such partnerships a strategic priority to broaden its regional humanitarian footprint.
In Central Java the Deputy Ruler visited a coffee farm backed by NAMA Women Advancement Establishment, where he met women enrolled in a programme that has trained some 2,800 participants in coffee cultivation skills, and observed harvesting and quality assessment processes. He concluded the tour in Gunung Kidul village by inspecting the “House for Every House” project, implemented by Habitat for Humanity Indonesia in partnership with The Big Heart Foundation and AraDay. The initiative will construct 250 new homes, adapt 50 units for persons with disabilities, install necessary water infrastructure and serve more than 3,700 residents, according to project representatives.
This visit reflects The Big Heart Foundation’s method of grounding humanitarian and development work in direct engagement with local organisations and community priorities. A 2023 assessment by The Diplomat highlighted the UAE’s consistent humanitarian contributions to Indonesia, including medical aid that supported approximately 20,000 health workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
